Japan catches up to U.S.

But not in a good way. Very interesting article in the April 22nd NYT's regarding Japan's growing poverty problem. Their poverty rate has doubled (now 15.7%) since Japan experienced the collapse of their real estate and stock markets in the 1990's. (Yikes, then what's in store for the U.S.) Plus, they too have experienced the challenges of competing with China for jobs, which places downward pressure on wages. These changes have brought Japan's poverty rate just under the Organization for Economic and Cooperation and Development's (OECD) rate of 17.1% for the U.S - quite a surprise. To read this very interesting article in it's entirety, click here.